14 September 2006

New Kosovo chief urges sides to keep up momentum September 13, 2006 7:16 PMUNITED NATIONS-The new U.N. administrator for Kosovo on Thursday backed a timeline that seeks to determine Kosovo's future by the end of the year, and urged the sides not to lose momentum despite slow progress between Kosovars and ethnic Serbs over the fate of the tiny province.Joachim Ruecker warned that the lack of a solution could lead to frustration that would only worsen tensions between the two sides. U.N. mediators have been trying to find a compromise between the demand of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for independence, and the demand of the Serb minority and Belgrade that Serbia retain some control over the province."Delay will not bring reconciliation," Ruecker told the U.N. Security Council. "Delay will not bring economic recovery. Delay will only prolong the existing tensions in Kosovo society which will feed frustration and make the new start, when it does come, even harder to get right."The council was meeting to discuss a recent report from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan which said there had been some progress in implementing a raft of benchmarks for Kosovo, including establishing democratic institutions, protecting minorities and promoting economic development.Yet significant problems remain, including the issue of minority rights, Ruecker said. In August, Kosovo's Serbs boycotted the negotiations, saying they would not accept being treated as a minority group.Serbia's envoy Sanda Raskovic-Ivic painted a dire picture of the plight of ethnic Serbians there, saying they can be killed simply for speaking their own language. She said there had been dozens of attacks on ethnic Serbs and warned that it was unwise to go too fast on negotiations."Impatience and haste cannot contribute to a sustainable solution to the issue of Kosovo ... or to peace and stability in the region," Raskovic-Ivic told the council.Even before her remarks, Ruecker said it was simply wrong to portray Kosovo as unsafe for ethnic Serbs, and that doing so was not helpful.Kosovo's ethnic Albanians took up arms in 1998 to secede from Serbia, triggering a brutal government crackdown that led to NATO military intervention in 1999. The intervention eventually forced Serbia to hand over authority of Kosovo to a temporary U.N. administration and NATO peacekeepers.Unresolved issues have already been discussed between the ethnic Albanian and Serbian delegations in U.N.-mediated talks held last month in Vienna, Austria, but no agreements have been reached.The next round of talks will be held Friday in Vienna, Austria, and foreign ministers from several nations planned to meet during the annual U.N. General Assembly session in New York next week on Kosovo as well.

Having tried all the other stock options - from war to economic pressure - a new plan now tries to lure Transnistria into Moldova with an economic carrot and stick policy. The plan is a repeat of a failed 1924 experiment from the Soviet Union. Here, columnist John Moynihan explains why it won't work.

In a new article, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that multilateral diplomacy based on international law should manage regional and global relations. Transnistria has repeatedly asked the world community to evaluate its claim to statehood based on an objective analysis of the facts in the context of international law. Will Russia (and Transnistria) be "contained", as some in the West want, or will international law be the guiding principle of relations between peoples?

Jesus Christ was a Communist. And, according to Moldova's president Vladimir Voronin, there is nothing in the Bible which criticizes Communism. The former Soviet-era General also told his country's priests that they "had no choice but to vote for the communists."

Michael Kirby scored a diplomatic "hole in one" during Wednesday's visit to Pridnestrovie's capital. The American Ambassador held firm on his country's anti-independence position but was nevertheless well received by youth in Tiraspol. Breakthrough leadership called the meeting positive and bestowed flowers on the US diplomat.

After Russian suspension of the CFE treaty, no troop pullout is imminent and Transdniestria peacekeeping operations will continue with Russian participation. Four sides currently supply peacekeeping troops to the multilateral force. In addition, the 56-member state OSCE also participates in the peacekeeping process with military observers.

Politicians in different "frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union are following Kosovo's developments closely. In Nagorno Karabakh, they are seen as a way to achieve recognition under a new scenario. And in Transdniestria, the President stated that his country has a stronger historical and legal case for independence than Kosovo.

A presidential election in the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic is shaping up to be a battle between local democraticy and international double standards. On one hand, observers and analysts consider Nagorno Karabakh's democracy to be stronger than in neighboring countries. Nevertheless, the international community refuses to recognize the right of local residents to democratically choose their political leaders.

Russia is not a key player in Northern Ireland conflict settlement, so why is it realistic to expect the EU or the USA to be key players in reaching status settlement over Pridnestrovie? Mike Averko, a New York based independent foreign policy analyst and media critic, takes a sobering look at Russia's role in the region.

Russian company Inter RAO UES has started exporting electricity from its power plant in Transnistria (officially Pridnestrovie). It is the first time in more than twenty years that the plant supplies Romania with electricity. The plant has capacity to supply more than ten times of the electricity that Transnistria uses.

newseconomyMon, 16 Jul 2007 09:38:36 -0500Times staff1083 at http://www.tiraspoltimes.com
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PMR property reform seen as way to more economic freedom for poor
http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/news/pmr_property_reform_seen_as_way_to_more_economic_freedom_for_poor.html

The backers of a new law on private property reforms see it as a way to boost economic freedom. Aimed at giving the poor and rural population legal title to their homes, it is based on a wealth creation roadmap by Hernando de Soto. The Peruvian economist specifically had post-Soviet countries in mind when he developed the plan.

Having tried all the other stock options - from war to economic pressure - a new plan now tries to lure Transnistria into Moldova with an economic carrot and stick policy. The plan is a repeat of a failed 1924 experiment from the Soviet Union. Here, columnist John Moynihan explains why it won't work.

In a new article, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that multilateral diplomacy based on international law should manage regional and global relations. Transnistria has repeatedly asked the world community to evaluate its claim to statehood based on an objective analysis of the facts in the context of international law. Will Russia (and Transnistria) be "contained", as some in the West want, or will international law be the guiding principle of relations between peoples?

Jesus Christ was a Communist. And, according to Moldova's president Vladimir Voronin, there is nothing in the Bible which criticizes Communism. The former Soviet-era General also told his country's priests that they "had no choice but to vote for the communists."

Michael Kirby scored a diplomatic "hole in one" during Wednesday's visit to Pridnestrovie's capital. The American Ambassador held firm on his country's anti-independence position but was nevertheless well received by youth in Tiraspol. Breakthrough leadership called the meeting positive and bestowed flowers on the US diplomat.

After Russian suspension of the CFE treaty, no troop pullout is imminent and Transdniestria peacekeeping operations will continue with Russian participation. Four sides currently supply peacekeeping troops to the multilateral force. In addition, the 56-member state OSCE also participates in the peacekeeping process with military observers.

Politicians in different "frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union are following Kosovo's developments closely. In Nagorno Karabakh, they are seen as a way to achieve recognition under a new scenario. And in Transdniestria, the President stated that his country has a stronger historical and legal case for independence than Kosovo.

A presidential election in the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic is shaping up to be a battle between local democraticy and international double standards. On one hand, observers and analysts consider Nagorno Karabakh's democracy to be stronger than in neighboring countries. Nevertheless, the international community refuses to recognize the right of local residents to democratically choose their political leaders.

Russia is not a key player in Northern Ireland conflict settlement, so why is it realistic to expect the EU or the USA to be key players in reaching status settlement over Pridnestrovie? Mike Averko, a New York based independent foreign policy analyst and media critic, takes a sobering look at Russia's role in the region.

Russian company Inter RAO UES has started exporting electricity from its power plant in Transnistria (officially Pridnestrovie). It is the first time in more than twenty years that the plant supplies Romania with electricity. The plant has capacity to supply more than ten times of the electricity that Transnistria uses.

newseconomyMon, 16 Jul 2007 09:38:36 -0500Times staff1083 at http://www.tiraspoltimes.com
-
PMR property reform seen as way to more economic freedom for poor
http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/news/pmr_property_reform_seen_as_way_to_more_economic_freedom_for_poor.html

The backers of a new law on private property reforms see it as a way to boost economic freedom. Aimed at giving the poor and rural population legal title to their homes, it is based on a wealth creation roadmap by Hernando de Soto. The Peruvian economist specifically had post-Soviet countries in mind when he developed the plan.